Hello hello hello everyone!
To continue our Pride Month celebration, I’m super excited to kick off our blog series highlighting creators, editors, and Fandom Staff in the LGBTQIA+ community. All month long, we’ll be sharing the stories and lived experiences of passionate folks who embrace authenticity and promote inclusivity in everything that they do. Through our theme of “Looking Back and Moving Forward”, we are focusing on the importance of understanding where we came from in order to get where we need to be. Learning and empathizing with queer stories is a powerful step to progressing toward a world of acceptance for all, so I encourage everyone to open up their minds and their hearts to understanding the unique journeys of people different from themselves.
As I mentioned in my last blog, a big focus for this month is on the Drag community, and with that, I am happy to introduce you all to someone in my chosen family - Itsbartbytheway, from the Drag Race Wiki. If you have not had the pleasure of talking to Bart before, well, you should. I’ll let him do most of the talking here, but I first want to celebrate how incredible of a job he has done as a Drag Race Wiki admin over the last few years. He has flawlessly taken on a leadership role for our community and single handedly grown our social following to over 10K! Watching him evolve has truly been such a joy, and I hope you all get as much joy out of learning more about him.
Read on to find out what he has to say about his journey on Fandom, his love of drag, and his hopes for a better future for the LGBTQIA+ community. And please no one tell him I’m saying so many nice things about him.
Meet Bart[]
Itsbartbytheway
Hi there! My name is Bart (he/him) and I’m a bureaucrat on the Drag Race Wiki. I live in a relatively small city in the Netherlands (but to be fair, every city is relatively small considering how tiny the country is) and I’m a fan of all things movies and tv shows, not the least of which of course being RuPaul’s Drag Race!
1. What specifically drew you to Fandom, and how did you become inspired to take on a leadership role in your community?
- I officially made an account in June of 2018, but I’d been using Fandom for quite some time prior to that. Initially I just fixed some typos here and there, but I quickly discovered editing was just as addictive as going down that rabbit hole of information as a reader/viewer of the site. I think what later drew me to taking on a leadership role on the wiki was really being able to expand the sense of community; to not only build bridges between the editing-side of the wiki and the discussion tab, but also between our individual users.
2. What do you love most about the Drag Race community, and what is your favorite thing about being an admin on the wiki?
- The Drag Race community is one that is (obviously) very near and dear to my heart. It’s a community that doesn’t take themselves too seriously, but knows when to step up and lead with kindness when necessary. It's my job as an admin to embody those traits and lead by example. I think my favorite part of being an admin is the fact that I get to welcome people into this special little community through the wiki; I get to watch them grow from acting like kids in a candy store when first looking at all our content, to established users who know all the ins and outs of our wiki.
3. What does the art of drag mean to you? How much has it impacted your life as an LGBTQIA+ person?
- Although I don’t do drag myself, drag is a huge part of my life. I’ve dedicated hours upon hours to help educate people on drag culture and the role it has in the LGBTQIA+ community; both on the wiki, its social media channels and in real life. Gaining that information, knowing where we came from as a community and how important our history is, gives you a new perspective on what it means to be a queer person.
4. How do you think shows like Drag Race are helping to uplift the Drag community?
- Drag artists have always been the vanguard of the LGBTQIA+ community. Shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race help give these artists a bigger platform and amplify their voices. RuPaul (and the show itself) has made drag mainstream and turned it into a global phenomenon. More and more, we’re seeing drag artists appear in movies, tv shows, music videos, fashion shows, what have you. This serves as a reminder that queer people are here; always have been, always will be.
Baby Bart
5. Our theme for Pride this year is “Looking Back and Moving Forward”. Thinking about where you are now and how far you’ve come, what advice would you give to your younger self?
- Take your time and trust your gut. This life is yours to navigate, so don’t let other people (or what they may think of you) make important decisions for you. Being considerate is a very important trait to have, but don’t lose sight of who you want to be in trying to please everyone around you.
6. What do you hope the future holds for you, for drag, and for the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole?
- We’re facing very uncertain times right now. Drag is under attack and bills are being passed globally that put our identities and culture at stake. I hope that the people in power will recognize that we’re not a threat, and that all we do is add a little color to our lives. Our differences are what makes us unique as people, and we have to embrace those differences instead of weaponizing them.
7. What actions can queer folks and allies take to promote forward progress for the LGBTQIA+ community?
- Queer people have always been fighting and have shown uncanny resilience in times of trouble. It's important that we don’t lean back and continue the fight towards progress. Our allies are of the utmost importance in this fight. We need you to listen to our stories and amplify our voices, to speak up when we’re faced with injustice. Whether you’re queer or an ally, wave that Pride flag this month, and do it proudly. Like RuPaul said: “A little bit of love goes a long, long way”.
Can I get an Amen up in here!? Huge shoutout to Bart for being willing to share his thoughts and experiences with you all. I hope everyone has taken away lessons for how to better support and uplift the people around you. Remember that your voice is one of the most powerful tools you have, and each time you speak out, you are making an impact.
There are plenty more stories to come, so stay tuned in the coming weeks! In the meantime, go show Bart some love in the comments!
Happy Pride!
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